As above, so below, As Within, So Without. Visualisation & Photography

Pictured: Translation of the ancient text (7th century) of the EMERALD TABLET. For centuries, the O.G. manifestation text has fascinated scholars such as Isaac Newton, alchemists, creatives, and light workers. Accompanying artwork provided by myself.

What up, people? Welcome back! I hope you all had a fantastic break and are recharged and energized for the new year. What a great way to kickstart the year with one of the original personal transformation and manifestation texts of the occult (hidden knowledge) from around the 7th or 8th century, of the "Emerald Tablet of Hermes." You've heard the saying, "As above, so below, as within, so without." Well, now you know the origins of it, along with the rest of the empowering text to aid you in your personal transformations this year.

At the same time, I wanted to share the ancient text because it ties in with visualization & photography, art, and just about anything creative/expressive. Over holiday, when I wasn't watching and betting on all of the NFL and college bowl games 😆, I got a lot of studying and work done for 2023 related to photography. What surprised me was discovering the mindset and spiritual approach to photography by the great Ansel Adams.

We all know the name and have seen his landscape work in passing before, but I never knew how big he was on the living energy and spirit within a photo and within the approach to creating and photographing. He was speaking (in his way) about many of the things I talk about here on my website regarding soul, spirit, and energy within film photography and art in general, but he was doing it way back in the 40s and 50s. I only made the "discovery" because lately, I've been shooting more large format images for clients, so I've been searching for information on specific techniques I needed to elevate. Of course, Ansel Adams primarily shot in large format and shared a wealth of information.

Ansel Adams Thunderstorm, Lake Tahoe, California 1938

Ansel Adams Stream, Sea, Clouds, Rodeo Beach, 1962

Ansel Adams Oak Tree, Sunset City, California, 1962

Ansel Adams Print For Taos Pueblo Book Replica, 1978

Ansel Adams shoots a portrait At Merced, CA, 1936. Like all of his works, the tonality of this image is just incredible.

Not only landscapes, but Adams' works also showed the humanity of Japanese Americans living in internment camps in 1943 in the Sierra Nevada Mountains . Here, Ryie Yoshizawa (center) teaches a class on dressmaking.

Adams said of this collection - "The purpose of my work was to show how these people, suffering under a great injustice, and loss of property, businesses, and professions, had overcome the sense of defeat and despair by building for themselves a vital community in an arid (but magnificent) environment."

Ansel Adams beautifully captured the sense of community during the hardships.

They lived at the camp from 1942 through 1945, when the war ended and they were allowed to return home.

Adams' beautifully captured the energy of the time. The inscription reads, "Monument for the Pacification of Spirits."

Below I listed a few of his best writing snippets and quotes.

• The true artist sees the world in the strongest possible way- let us say, in the most penetrating and revealing way. The art of photography is the art of "seeing" and the effectiveness of photography depends upon the strength and integrity of this "seeing." Hence, the so-called "rules" of photographic composition are, in my opinion, invalid, irrelevant and immaterial- nothing but obscurations between the spirit and the revelation of the world of nature and of man. - Ansel Adams

• The term visualization refers to the entire emotional-mental process of creating a photograph, and as such, it is one of the most important concepts in photography. It includes the ability to anticipate a finished image before making the exposure, so that the procedures employed will contribute to achieving the desired result. This much of the creative process can be practiced and learned, beyond lies the domain of personal vision and insight, the creative "eye" of the individual, which cannot be taught, only recognized and encouraged. - Ansel Adams

• Visualization is a very complicated "feedback" of perception and experience. Both are gained through disciplines in no way inferior to those of any older established art or craft. No art can advance without them-photography included! The most precious element is the individual concept and spirit which must not be trapped in conventionalized routines and standards. Art, if it is to be of any value to our world (and to the artist!), must reach far beyond the narcissistic and the therapeutic and stir the spirit of the individual and of society. All art of lasting consequence has done just this; mere amusement or decoration is not enough. - Ansel Adams

• Need, or desire, to photograph. This attitude is obviously essential. A purpose can be the greatest stimulus for functional or creative work. - Ansel Adams

• Just as a musician "hears" notes and chords in his mind's ear, so can the trained photographer "sees" certain values, textures, and arrangements in his mind's eye. The visualization of a photograph involves many extremely swift observations and evaluations, motivated and controlled by intuition and experience. - Ansel Adams

• When I'm ready to make a photograph, I think I quite obviously see in my mind's eye something that is not literally there in the true meaning of the word. I'm interested in something which is built up from within, rather than just extracted from without. - Ansel Adams

• To photograph truthfully and effectively is to see beneath the surfaces and record the qualities of nature and humanity which live or are latent in all things." - Ansel Adams

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❤️‍🔥🌙🌊

🎼 This classic song is fresh in my mind since I created to it during a shoot a few days ago. 🎶"The question is not when he's gonna stop, but who's gonna stop him." Cheers to a beautiful year ahead!

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